Claim of Eon: Eon Warriors #6 Read online

They pushed on. “Careful.” Donovan felt a tingle along his senses. “The asshole’s close.”

  Her brow creased. “How do you know?”

  “I feel it.”

  “Feel it?” Her frown deepened.

  Suddenly, there was movement behind her. Something launched at Airen out of the vines.

  Donovan tackled her and they hit the mud hard. She grunted under his weight.

  “Up,” she growled. “I can’t fight on my back.”

  Donovan swiveled. It wasn’t a pirate. It was some sort of animal.

  Rising, he noted that the creature was vaguely humanoid, but much shorter than them. Its body was covered in pale fur, and its large eyes were a blue-green color. It vaguely reminded him of a large, muscular monkey. It also had claws. Long ones.

  It hissed at them.

  Donovan pulled out his laser pistol. There was a flash of green from beside him and he glanced over to see Airen had formed a sword on her arm. It was long and wicked, and glowing with a faint green color.

  Damn, having a helian would be pretty fucking awesome.

  Still, sometimes a simple laser pistol did the trick. He fired several times, clipping the animal’s arm. The creature bolted into the leaves.

  “I like the sword,” he said.

  “Thanks.” She watched the vines, and when the creature didn’t reappear, her sword dissolved away. She pushed strands of her sodden hair out of her face. “I think—”

  All of a sudden, a body dropped out of the tree above them and slammed into her.

  “Airen!” Donovan yelled.

  Chapter Two

  She hated sneaky pirates.

  Despite the rain in her eyes, Airen shoved the foul-smelling man off her.

  He leaped to his feet and spun, flashed metal teeth at her, then attacked. The jagged knife in his hand glinted dully in the gray light.

  The idiot thought she was the softer target.

  Time to learn a lesson, my friend.

  Airen always tried to exude calm and control, but she had a temper. She kept it strictly locked away, most of the time.

  Now, she let her anger punch through her and she formed a short sword. She blocked the pirate’s hit. They traded several blows, slipping in the mud. The man was stronger than he looked.

  When the pirate stumbled, she glanced sideways at Donovan. He held his laser pistol aimed and ready, but hadn’t moved.

  “Are you going to assist?” she asked.

  “Nope.”

  She blinked. “Why not?”

  “Because you’ve got it handled.”

  Airen stilled. She’d spent her entire career fighting for her spot, not letting big, strong warriors rush in to rescue her.

  “Besides,” he continued. “I really like watching you fight.”

  She heard the blatant appreciation in his deep voice, and felt it in places she’d never, ever admit to.

  The pirate rushed at her again. She slammed him down and skewered his shoulder with her sword. He howled.

  Donovan crouched and jammed his pistol against the man’s cheek. “Don’t move, or she’s going to hurt you.” Donovan patted the man’s malodorous, scruffy clothes down. He found the data chip and held it up.

  Airen took it, and her helian connected with the device, confirming that the Rengard data was on it.

  “Why did you hack our system?” she asked. “Why did you steal this information?”

  The pirate turned his head and spat on the ground.

  Donovan shoved the pistol against the man’s cheek even harder. “Answer, or I’ll let her gut you.”

  The dark menace got through.

  The pirate glanced between the two of them, then sucked in a breath. “We were hired. The Kantos have got a big, fat hard-on for the Eon and Terrans.” His metal teeth flashed. “I’d watch your backs, if I were you. Those insects will be chewing on you before you know it. They have plans.”

  Donovan rose. “What plans?”

  The pirate shrugged. “I don’t know. They didn’t tell me everything.”

  Donovan glanced at Airen. “What will we do with him?”

  She wiped the water off her face. “Let him go. He can take his chances with the jungle.”

  The pirate didn’t need to be told twice. He scrambled onto his hands and knees, slipped in the mud, then disappeared into the vegetation.

  “Let’s get out of this cren-cursed rain,” she suggested.

  “Hell, yeah, I’m with you on that.”

  They headed back toward the ship and Airen activated her comm. “Sabin? Come in.”

  “Airen?” Sabin’s voice came through her communication device. “Did you find the pirate?”

  “Yes. We have the data.”

  “Great, let’s get off this cursed planet. We’ll meet you at the ship.”

  “Acknowledged.”

  Even in the slick terrain, she admired Donovan’s loose-hipped stride. She felt a flush of heat over her skin and sucked in a breath. Cren, this restless need to touch him was driving her crazy. She would control it.

  At that moment, her boots slipped in the muck. He caught her arm, swinging her toward him, and her body slammed into his, her front plastered to his chest. She looked up, their faces close.

  For several heartbeats, they both simply breathed. Airen’s pulse pounded in her ears.

  “I like watching you work, Airen,” he said softly, breaking the silence.

  Right now, his eyes looked gold. She’d noticed that before—they were normally pale brown, but they shifted to gold when he was really focused on something.

  He was temptation—pure and powerful.

  He didn’t close the gap between them, even though heated tension sang in the air. She realized he wouldn’t. She’d asked him to back off, and it appeared that Donovan Lennox was a man of his word.

  She looked at him. “We should go.”

  He nodded and stepped back.

  Airen felt a sense of loss and mentally cursed herself. She didn’t need this. She couldn’t afford to get tangled up with this man.

  Suddenly, the mud beneath them began to boil. By Ston’s sword.

  “What the fuck?” Donovan muttered.

  They both moved closer together, just as several tree roots speared up through the wet ground.

  One root wrapped around Airen’s leg, yanking her off her feet. Another one rushed up, curling around Donovan’s waist.

  Airen hit the ground, mud spraying her face. Cren. As she was dragged around the muddy ground, she formed a sword. She slashed at the root and freed herself. Leaping to her feet, she spat mud out of her mouth and spun. Donovan was cursing, his tree root lifting him off the ground. It tossed him from side to side.

  “I thought there was nothing dangerous down here,” he bellowed. He thumped a fist against the root.

  “No sentient life forms.” She strode toward him, dodging new roots as they broke out of the mud. “Apparently, there’s some dangerous flora.”

  “You don’t say.”

  Airen leaped up and swung her sword. It sliced through the root, freeing him. Another root whipped through the air and slammed into her. The force of the blow threw her against Donovan and they both crashed to the ground. She landed on top of him and heard him grunt.

  “All right?” she asked.

  “Yeah. You?”

  Nodding, she sat up, shoving her saturated hair off her face. “Let’s get—”

  A long, thin tree root cleared the mud and arrowed at her. Before she could dodge, it wrapped around her neck.

  Cren. Airen grabbed the root, trying to yank it off. It tightened, cutting off her air.

  “Shit.” Donovan knelt in front of her, his bigger hands closing over hers. He tugged hard, cursing steadily. “Come on, Second Commander. Use all that strength of yours.” His voice was strained as he tried to pull the root off her.

  She coughed and felt the burn in her lungs. Her helian was trying desperately to compensate for the lack of oxygen. Her vision blur
red.

  “Hey,” Donovan snapped. “Look at me.”

  She stared into his face. He had a strong jaw and those eyes that reminded her of ancient Eon coins.

  “Stay with me, Airen.”

  She sensed him doing something. Then she saw the knife in his hand, made of solid Terran steel.

  A second later, the tree root was gone.

  Airen sucked in a loud breath and toppled forward. He caught her against his chest.

  “You’re okay. Fuck.” He ran a hand up and down her back.

  She pulled in another long breath, her helian already stabilizing her body. “I’m fine.”

  Big hands cupped her cheeks. “You sure?”

  She nodded. The rain was falling steadily, they were splattered with mud, and she saw the lines of worry etched into his strong face. Worry for her.

  Airen didn’t let herself think or question. She just closed the gap between them and kissed him.

  For a humming second, Donovan didn’t move, then his lips opened and he took her mouth.

  Oh. Oh. He tasted like strength and frustrated desire. Like hot secrets and forbidden hunger. Like a shot of the Terran liquor she’d tried once, that had burned so smoothly down her throat.

  His tongue stroked hers and she moaned, gripping his shoulders and pressing closer.

  One of his hands slid around, cupping her head, holding her still as the kiss turned flaming hot and greedy. He made a low growl and it shivered through her, arrowing straight between her legs where she was already wet and needy.

  “Damn, you taste good,” he murmured against her mouth.

  She tugged him closer and kissed him again.

  “Airen? Airen?”

  It took her a second to realize that it was Sabin’s voice on her comm line.

  She pulled back, even as a part of her wept in denial. She licked her lips, feeling so aroused and more than a little shocked at her behavior.

  “I’m here, Sabin.”

  “Matton and I had to detour around a small ravine. Might take us a little longer to return to the ship.”

  “Acknowledged. Um, Donovan and I are still en route.”

  “See you soon.”

  Rising, Airen set her shoulders back. “We need to keep moving.”

  Donovan watched her, not saying anything.

  She didn’t know what she was feeling, so many different emotions churning inside her. “I’m sorry about the kiss.”

  “I’m not.”

  She closed her eyes. “Donovan—”

  “Come on, Second Commander, let’s get out of this rain.”

  They moved quickly through the jungle. It wasn’t long before they spotted the shuttle.

  They climbed aboard, and a few minutes later, Sabin and Matton arrived, equally sodden. Thankfully, it was time to leave the jungle behind.

  Airen sat beside Sabin in the cockpit. Matton and Donovan strapped in behind them. She hoped the all-too-preceptive security commander didn’t pick up her mood. Outside, she tried for calm. Inside, she just wanted to crawl into Donovan’s lap and devour him.

  By Alqin’s axe. She sucked in some breaths, watching as Sabin started the shuttle’s engines and got them airborne.

  As their shuttle broke the atmosphere, Matton grumbled, “I need a hot shower.” Sabin made a wordless sound of agreement.

  “Were you able to learn anything else?” Sabin asked, glancing first back at Donovan, and then at Airen.

  Airen held up the data chip. “The pirate said the Kantos hired them.”

  Sabin cursed, his hands moving over the ship’s controls. “I guessed as much. What have those fuckers got planned now?”

  “Picking up some Terran curse words?” Donovan called out with a brief chuckle.

  “Fuck, yeah.”

  Airen stared at the chip, worry eating at her. “The pirate alluded to the Kantos having attack plans, although he didn’t have any more information.”

  Sabin glanced at her, the purple threads in his eyes glowing. “Well, we knew they weren’t going to go away.”

  “No, they aren’t,” Airen agreed, swiping a droplet of water from her cheek.

  “Here.” Donovan leaned between the seats and held out an absorbent towel to her.

  “Thanks.” She wiped off her hair and face, turning to glance back at him.

  She watched him dry himself off with a flex of muscular arms and felt a rush of traitorous heat. Her hands clenched on her towel.

  He caught her looking at him and smiled. The man had a gorgeous smile.

  “Rengard ahead,” Sabin called out.

  Work. That’s what she needed right now. Her reason for everything.

  She turned to face her warship through the viewscreen, but thoughts of the distracting Terran that made her want to crawl out of her skin were still in her head.

  * * *

  When Donovan had finished his shift for the day, he headed to the Rengard gym. He was wearing black shorts, a tight, black compression shirt, and his favorite battered Nikes.

  As he entered the gym, he called out to the warriors who were training on the mats, and then hit the treadmill.

  Like all Eon technology, it was kick ass.

  Just like a certain warrior he knew.

  He hadn’t seen Airen since they’d returned yesterday from the jungle planet and she’d gone to the tech team to get the chip analyzed. He couldn’t prove it, but he suspected the second commander was avoiding him.

  The kiss had left her rattled. She’d just about blown his head off with that kiss. His lips curved. God, he could still taste her, hear the husky little noises she’d made.

  His roster today had included a stint with the ship’s navigators. Thankfully, the work had kept him busy and occupied until now. He ran until he was sweaty. The training warriors left, calling out goodbyes. Moments later, the doors opened again, and Airen entered wearing workout gear.

  Damn.

  His cock throbbed, letting him know just how much it appreciated seeing the second commander. She wore tight leggings, and a thin top that clung to her. Her clothing was all black and he wondered if she ever wore color. She’d look stunning in red, or turquoise.

  She spotted him, hesitated, then nodded.

  Donovan liked knowing he upset the steady second commander’s equilibrium. He wouldn’t be on the Rengard forever. And while he didn’t believe in love and long-term, he fully believed in short-term and mutually satisfying.

  When he finished on the treadmill, he moved onto the mat and started stretching. “Hi, Airen.”

  “Donovan.”

  “Any news about the data on the chip?” he asked.

  She nodded. “We recovered all of the stolen data.” She stretched her slender arms above her head and he forced himself not to look at her perfect breasts—he’d already noted that they were high, not large, not small. Perfect.

  “But there’s other data on the chip, as well,” she added.

  He straightened. “Really?”

  “It’s encrypted.” Her nose wrinkled. “Some sort of chaotic encryption the pirates have used. The team’s working on it with Wren and Sassy.”

  “Could have helpful information on there,” he mused.

  “Or it could just be space pirate crap.”

  She moved to the wall of weapons and picked a sword off the rack. Back on the mat, she started swinging the weapon and moving through a routine full of kicks and lunges. Damn, his mouth went dry as he watched her bend and then slash with that sword out.

  She was beautiful. He was attracted to that, sure, but he also liked her quiet strength, not to mention the softness she tried to hide. Donovan had grown up with a houseful of sisters, so he knew how to read a woman, especially when she was trying to hide something.

  Airen paused. “Would you like me to show you some moves?”

  “Sure.”

  He picked a larger sword off the wall—longer, a little sturdier.

  “Okay, hold it like this.” She demonstrated. “Now
follow my moves.”

  He watched her carefully, and soon he was mimicking the movements, a new sheen of perspiration on his face.

  They moved in tandem, swinging and slashing.

  “You’re a quick learner,” she said.

  “Always have been. When I was younger, I had to be.”

  She raised a brow.

  “My dad left when I was young. My mom ended up being a single mother with four kids to provide for.”

  “You have three siblings.”

  Was that a faint, wistful note in her voice? “Three older, nosy, know-it-all sisters. They like thinking they can boss me around.” He grinned. Damn, he missed them all. “I had to join Space Corps to escape them.”

  A small smile tipped Airen’s lips.

  “You have siblings, family?”

  “No.” She turned away, snatched up a cleaning rag and started running it over the sword. She returned the weapon to the wall.

  Frowning, Donovan followed her. “I’m sorry.” He touched her arm. “I didn’t mean to make you sad.”

  “I’m not.” The words came out fast, and then she sighed. “Old news. I was found as an abandoned infant, and raised as a ward of the Empire.”

  His frown deepened. So, she’d been alone right from a baby? “I thought having babies wasn’t exactly easy for the Eon? If it requires medical intervention, wouldn’t there be a record of your birth?”

  Her mouth flattened. “There was no record. I was just unwanted.”

  “Hey.” He pulled her closer and then wrapped his arms around her.

  She stiffened.

  “It’s just a hug, Airen. For comfort.”

  “That’s not required, Donovan. I’ve comforted myself my entire life, and like I said, this is old news.”

  “Yeah, but I need the comfort. I hate to think of you being so young and alone.”

  Slowly, she relaxed against him. “It wasn’t all bad. I was well-cared for and entered the Warrior Academy as soon as I could. It taught me to be self-sufficient and independent.”

  He wondered who’d hugged her or taught her about boys or been proud of her achievements.

  Then the gym doors opened and she jerked away like he was on fire.

  Two young warrior recruits entered and nodded at them. “Second Commander. Sub-Captain.”